A portable hand-held apparatus such as a mobile phone comprises a speaker apparatus nowadays. An acoustic audio technology plays important role for the actual user of such apparatus. A mobile phone can have an earpiece speaker and an integrated hands free (IHF) speaker. The earpiece speaker can be a device which is held against the user's ear to listen, whereas the IHF speaker can be a device, which has loud enough sound to allow the user to listen at arms-length distance, holding the mobile communications device in his hands or on letting the mobile device being on a table etc. The IHF speaker can be built into the same mobile communications device as the earpiece. Typically the earpiece speaker and the IHF speaker have different sound outlets. However, two separate speakers require a lot of space. This is problematic following the miniaturizing trend of the portable hand-held apparatuses.
Thus a known mobile phone has both the earpiece and the integrated hands-free speaker. However, some conflicting requirements arise with respect to the ear-piece and the hands free. Sound at arms-length distance in the “hands-free” use should be loud enough, but sound into the ear in “earpiece” use should not be too loud (i.e. to avoid potential hearing damage). While it is possible to include electronic level control, proximity sensors etc., the protection functionality of these solutions is sometimes uncertain. Thus the protection of the user's ear against accidental too loud earpiece sound pressures should preferably be implemented more securely, i.e. not only electronically or mechanically.
Protecting the ear from too loud accidental sound pressures can be accomplished in the following ways. In a known solution a proximity sensor prevents loud sound output, when something is close to the earpiece sound outlet. In another solution a bypass outlet passes most of the sound out through some other opening than the one that is held against the ear. In yet another known solution a user-engaged mechanical switch opens/closes the sound outlets leading to the ear and at the same time engages electronic level control. The disadvantage of these solutions is that they demand quite much from mechanical and industrial design. Therefore more space is required. Complex design must be effected. Moreover the solutions are vulnerable to malfunctions etc.